A standard phrase I'd use at work was "It's not inadequate," which was my wise-ass way of endorsing results that I wasn't thrilled with. A student's paper with a grade of "C" would be "not inadequate." If I was even less thrilled, I might say, "It's not terribly inadequate." This latter phrase was my euphemism for "good enough yet pretty lousy all the same."
But some people took it the wrong way. They actually were pleased to receive this response. They'd show me their design or report, and I'd say "that's not inadequate," and they'd smile proudly, as if I'd just affixed a gold star to it.
Well I don't use it any more, perhaps because it has lost it's intended impact. Or perhaps because sarcasm is being discouraged in much the same way as discrimination -- it's just not professional. The utterly flavorless "good" has supplanted my "it's not inadequate" nowadays.
My new phrase is now "Crapizoids," which I exclaim out loud to myself instead of, um, well, a four letter word that begins and ends exactly like "firetruck." I say "Crapizoids" a lot, like when the e-mail client freezes just before I click "Send" on a message that took 30 minutes to compose and included several links to various documents scattered in remote and obscure parts of the network. "Crapizoids" is for when I hurriedly press Ctrl-A (which selects all content), instead of the neighboring Ctrl-S (save), followed by the Enter key and the witty content of a new paragraph, which replaces all the selected content. (The Undo feature is my best friend for a good reason, but sometimes it reverts away from good stuff, too.) "Crapizoids" can be heard right after every power failure.
Right at the moment I'm writing this in a public library as I wait for my daughter's karate lesson to end. And it has ended, so I have to leave this post without a snazzy ending. Crapizoids! I hope it's not too inadequate.
Snoskred's response to the NaBloPoMo writing prompt, "Tell us about a quirk or odd habit that you have," inspired today's post.
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4 comments:
How about the always vague "it's fine"? As in "it will do but...." No writer wants to hear it; no editor wants to utter it. But sometimes it's the only honest thing to say.
Ahh, "fine," another four-letter "F" word! The perfect response!
Thanks for reading and commenting, Pam!
I am an overuser of the word awesome. ;) But Jane from Breaking Bad showed me the perfect retort to it when Jesse said something was awesome and she replied, does it inspire awe?
I'm looking for new words too. I routinely use a word I made up - fascinatory. I also am a big fan of the big words "excellent" "beautiful" "wonderful".
How about "It's not dissatisfactory"? Or unsatisfactory? or incomplete?
Thanks for commenting with suggestions, Snoskred!
I like the word "fortuitous," but there are few opportunities to use it appropriately.
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